editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Tovia Smith is an award-winning NPR News National Desk correspondent based in Boston. For the last 25 years, Smith has been covering news around New England and beyond. She's reported extensively on the debate over gay marriage in Massachusetts and the sexual abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, including breaking the news of the Pope's secret meeting with survivors. Smith has traveled to New Hampshire to report on seven consecutive Primary elections, to the Gulf Coast after the BP oil spill, and to Ground Zero in New York City after the September 11, 2001 attacks. She covered landmark court cases — from the trials of British au pair Louise Woodward, and abortion clinic gunman John Salvi, to the proceedings against shoe bomber Richard Reid. Through the years, Smith has brought to air the distinct voices of Boston area residents, whether reacting to the capture of reputed Mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, or mourning the death of U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy. In all of her reporting,NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Tovia SmithTue, 16 May 2017 07:36:45 +0000Tovia Smithhttp://wemu.org
Tovia SmithThere's been an unprecedented spike in white supremacist activity on campuses across the U.S. since the election and college students and administrators are struggling to figure out how to respond. Posters at the University of Texas at Arlington last month implored students to "report any and all illegal aliens. America is a white nation." Also last month, at the University of Pennsylvania flyers blared "Imagine a Muslim-free America." Hate watch groups have tracked 150 incidents of white supremacist propaganda on campuses since the fall. Even just a year ago, it was such a rarity no one was even counting. "Our time has come," roared white supremacist Richard Spencer to students at Auburn University last month. It was one of a growing number of campus visits made by white nationalist leaders looking to connect with students personally. "This is a new phenomenon that's very dangerous," said Oren Segal, head of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism. He says white supremacists,As White Supremacists Push Onto Campuses, Schools Wrestle With Responsehttp://wemu.org/post/white-supremacists-push-campuses-schools-wrestle-response
90268 as http://wemu.orgFri, 12 May 2017 21:35:00 +0000As White Supremacists Push Onto Campuses, Schools Wrestle With ResponseTovia SmithEditor's note: This story contains language that may be offensive to some readers. Hate incidents can happen anywhere: the mall, the church, the office. But, in the wake of the 2016 election, hate's been showing up a lot in school. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, in the months following the election more hate incidents took place in America's schools than anywhere else. Hundreds of elementary, middle and high schools have played host to an array of troubling events, from sophomoric stunts to much worse: a hijab pulled off a Muslim student, physical fights with racial epithets flung, even violent threats. Educators in Massachusetts, as elsewhere, are struggling with what to do. In Medway, a video began circulating showing a student with a rifle, saying the N-word and "kill 'em all." This was just one of dozens of school incidents called in to a hate hotline set up by the Massachusetts attorney general. One concerned parent called to ask about getting a restraining order.Fighting Hate In Schoolshttp://wemu.org/post/fighting-hate-schools
88769 as http://wemu.orgWed, 05 Apr 2017 19:00:00 +0000Fighting Hate In SchoolsTovia SmithThe Department of Homeland Security is stepping up its support for Jewish institutions across the nation who've received more than 120 bomb threats in the past two months. Jewish Community Centers have been pressing for help as they've been targeted by waves of threatening calls as well as vandalism. Since January, the calls coming in to JCCs have been both vivid and unnerving. Betzy Lynch, executive director of the JCC in Birmingham, Ala., got three of the threatening calls, all very similar. "It is a very disguised sort of digitized voice that indicates that there's a bomb in the building, and then there's some pretty horrific rhetoric about hurting Jewish people," she says. The calls have thrust JCCs around the nation into repeated evacuations. Elderly women doing water aerobics and babies in daycares have been rushed out to the streets, and whole communities have been rattled. "Everybody's no more than one or two degrees of separation from someone whose kid ended up on a sidewalkDHS To Help Jewish Community Centers Enhance Security Protocolshttp://wemu.org/post/dhs-help-jewish-community-centers-enhance-security-protocols
87605 as http://wemu.orgThu, 02 Mar 2017 23:34:00 +0000DHS To Help Jewish Community Centers Enhance Security ProtocolsTovia SmithEditor's note: This story contains language that may be offensive to some readers. Harassment, threats and intimidation of minorities and immigrants spiked nationwide after President Trump's election in November. Comprehensive statistics are hard to come by, but officials and watch groups say hate-motivated incidents remain higher than usual more than three months after Election Day. Massachusetts is among the many states that have seen such a spike. "There was one night, where my parents and I were walking out of a department store," recalls Nadia Butt, 36, of Danvers, Mass., a suburb north of Boston. "And two white males yelled ... 'F****** immigrants go home!' " Butt says she froze. So did her parents, American citizens who emigrated from Pakistan 40 years ago. "My dad just kept hugging me as I was crying and just kept repeating that in all of his years of living here, he has never experienced such hatred," says Butts. The rise in incidents like this one spurred MassachusettsMassachusetts Hotline Tracks Post-Election Hatehttp://wemu.org/post/massachusetts-hotline-tracks-post-election-hate
87117 as http://wemu.orgSat, 18 Feb 2017 11:47:00 +0000Massachusetts Hotline Tracks Post-Election HateTovia SmithThey say opposites attract. But these days, maybe not so much. A growing number of singles are adding a clause to their online dating profiles telling either Trump haters or Trump supporters — depending on their political preference — that they need not apply. "This was like a deal breaker for me," says 50-year-old Elizabeth Jagosz from the Detroit area. "If you are Trump supporter, I'm not even going to consider meeting you for coffee." It's not just an issue of party politics, Jagosz says. It's about core values. Love, she says, cannot conquer all. "If you don't care about a person who says you can grab women by the pussy and that's OK — I don't wanna date you if you think that behavior's OK," Jagosz says. "If that's not a deal breaker for you, then you and I have nothing to talk about." As another single put it in her profile, "Red hats need not apply." But the people wearing those red hats — the ones stamped with "Make America Great Again" — have been feeling the same way. ThisWhen Dating In The Era Of Divisive Politics, Both Sides Stick To Themselveshttp://wemu.org/post/when-dating-era-divisive-politics-both-sides-stick-themselves
86970 as http://wemu.orgTue, 14 Feb 2017 22:38:00 +0000When Dating In The Era Of Divisive Politics, Both Sides Stick To ThemselvesTovia SmithFor decades the same test has been used to convict drunk drivers. Police ask a driver to stand on one leg, walk a straight line and recite the alphabet. If the driver fails, the officer will testify in court to help make a case for driving under the influence. But defense lawyers argue, science has yet to prove that flunking the standard field sobriety test actually means that a person is high, the way it's been proven to measure drunkenness. So, as attorney Rebecca Jacobstein argued to the Massachusetts high court, the tests shouldn't be allowed in evidence. "If there's reliable science, reliable science gets to come in," Jacobstein argued. "It's just that unreliable science does not." Prosecutors like attorney Michelle King don't agree. They argue that rapidly advancing science does prove field tests' reliability. "Three investigations have come to light and those are the most important for your honors to look at at this point," King said in court. What makes the stakes so high here,Can Sobriety Tests Weed Out Drivers Who've Smoked Too Much Weed?http://wemu.org/post/can-sobriety-tests-weed-out-drivers-whove-smoked-too-much-weed
86215 as http://wemu.orgWed, 25 Jan 2017 23:32:00 +0000Can Sobriety Tests Weed Out Drivers Who've Smoked Too Much Weed?Tovia SmithOne staple in just about every sexual assault prevention program is the video vignette. It's usually a play-acted scenario used to teach students what crosses the line. Now, the videotape of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump bragging about groping and kissing women is quickly becoming the classic real-life case study. Professor Harry Brod teaches a course on men, masculinities and sexual ethics at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin. Ironically, Brod says, what's most offensive about the recording may actually be the least useful as a teaching tool. The kind of behavior that Trump boasts of on the tape — and now denies — like grabbing women's private parts and kissing them against their will so clearly crosses the line, Brod says, it would be obvious to most students. But Brod says there are many more nuanced lessons on the tape. For example, he points to when Billy Bush, at the time co-host of Access Hollywood, eggs Trump on and then takes it a step further, pressing actress ArianneFor Some Sexual Assault Activists, Trump Tape Is A Teachable Momenthttp://wemu.org/post/some-sexual-assault-activists-trump-tape-teachable-moment
82486 as http://wemu.orgThu, 13 Oct 2016 22:23:00 +0000For Some Sexual Assault Activists, Trump Tape Is A Teachable MomentDuring the Our Ocean conference in Washington, D.C., President Obama announced the creation of the first national marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean. "We're protecting fragile ecosystems off the coast of New England, including pristine underseas canyons and seamounts," Obama said during his remarks . "We're helping make the oceans more resilient to climate change ... and we're doing it in a way that respects the fishing industry's unique role in New England's economy and history." The 4,913-square-mile Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument is the size of Connecticut and has been called an "underwater Yellowstone" and "a deep sea Serengeti." Hidden beneath the waves off Cape Cod, Mass., is a submerged wonderland of lush forests, canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon, vivid corals and extinct volcanoes — all teeming with wildlife such as endangered sperm whales, sea turtles and exotic species that aren't found anywhere else. "We're phenomenally excited," saysObama Designates 1st Marine National Monument In The Atlantic Oceanhttp://wemu.org/post/obama-designate-first-marine-national-monument-atlantic-ocean
81505 as http://wemu.orgThu, 15 Sep 2016 09:22:00 +0000Obama Designates 1st Marine National Monument In The Atlantic OceanTovia Smithhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoWLWS4-kU If colleges are a hunting ground, as they've been called, for sexual predators, advocates say that high schools are the breeding ground — and that any solution must start there. They say efforts at college are too little, too late. The push for earlier intervention is coming from a wide range of voices, including student survivors, law enforcement officials — and New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft. "I have a couple granddaughters in college, and y'know, I'm just thinking, holy mackerel — let's get to the root of it," Kraft told an audience of hundreds of high school students and teachers at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. With half million dollars — and his team's star power — he's got some 90 Massachusetts high schools to run a dating violence prevention program called Mentors in Violence Prevention. "It's about respect and listening," Kraft said in his speech. "We have to make this cool." Many students were starstruck by Kraft and theTo Prevent Sexual Assault, Schools And Parents Start Lessons Earlyhttp://wemu.org/post/prevent-sexual-assault-schools-and-parents-start-lessons-early
80095 as http://wemu.orgTue, 09 Aug 2016 08:48:00 +0000To Prevent Sexual Assault, Schools And Parents Start Lessons EarlyTovia SmithCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit NPR .How Is The Democratic Convention Playing In Deep-Blue Massachusetts?http://wemu.org/post/how-democratic-convention-playing-deep-blue-massachusetts
79646 as http://wemu.orgThu, 28 Jul 2016 19:59:00 +0000How Is The Democratic Convention Playing In Deep-Blue Massachusetts?Tovia SmithWanna walk in James "Whitey" Bulger's shoes? His size 9 1/2 Asics sneakers — with extra cushion insoles — are among hundreds of items once owned by the convicted mobster that are being auctioned off by the government, to benefit Bulger's victims. On the block is pretty much everything but the kitchen sink that was seized from the California apartment where Bulger was captured five years ago, with his girlfriend Catherine Greig, after 16 years on the run. Think of it as a great big Gangster Garage Sale. There's heaps of the mundane, like little ceramic cats, dinner plates and used furniture from the modest Santa Monica apartment where the fugitives were trying to blend in as just another couple living out a quiet retirement. But there are also some doozies. It turns out the former mob boss who went to the mat at his federal trial — denying he was ever a government informant — kept his pens in a ceramic mug in the shape of a rat. "Read into that what you may," laughs Thomas J. AbernathyMurderabilia: 'Whitey' Bulger Items Go Up For Auctionhttp://wemu.org/post/murderabilia-whitey-bulger-items-go-auction
78193 as http://wemu.orgSat, 25 Jun 2016 12:32:00 +0000Murderabilia: 'Whitey' Bulger Items Go Up For AuctionTovia SmithWhen it comes to sexual assault of students, some say private secondary schools are still being a little too private about how they handle misconduct. A recent Boston Globe investigation found hundreds of students were allegedly abused by teachers and staff at scores of New England prep schools since the 1950s. Many of the perpetrators were quietly let go, and then moved on to re-offend at other schools. To many who've been through private boarding schools, the stories of sexual abuse comes as little surprise. There are not only more opportunities for misconduct with kids at school day and night, but also, arguably more pressure on elite, competitive prep schools to keep such problems private. "That's just how it is," says Maggie Fitzgerald, who enrolled at the Williston Northampton School in western Massachusetts five years ago as it was being sued for trying to cover up a teacher's sexual misconduct with a student. The news didn't dissuade her. "I mean, every boarding school has comeBreaking The Cycle Of Sexual Abuse Of Students By Prep School Teachershttp://wemu.org/post/breaking-cycle-sexual-abuse-students-prep-school-teachers
76746 as http://wemu.orgWed, 18 May 2016 22:13:00 +0000Breaking The Cycle Of Sexual Abuse Of Students By Prep School TeachersTovia SmithWhen it comes to punishing students for campus sexual assault, some say kicking offenders out of school isn't enough. They want schools to put a permanent note on offenders' transcripts explaining that they've been punished for sexual misconduct, so other schools — or employers — can be warned. Survivor Carmen McNeill says it's common sense. She was a college junior nearly two years ago when, she says, she passed out on someone's bed after a party, from a mix of drinks — including one she suspects was spiked. "There was a male figure over top of me," she recalls. "And my arms were being held down by his arms." The next morning, after realizing she was missing her underwear, McNeill started piecing together what happened. "He took advantage of what he saw was an easy target and he did what he wanted with me," she says. Eventually, a campus disciplinary panel expelled the male student. McNeill felt relieved and vindicated — until she found out he was accepted as a transfer student atPush Grows For A 'Scarlet Letter' On Transcripts Of Campus Sexual Offendershttp://wemu.org/post/push-grows-scarlet-letter-transcripts-campus-sexual-offenders
76473 as http://wemu.orgWed, 11 May 2016 20:28:00 +0000Push Grows For A 'Scarlet Letter' On Transcripts Of Campus Sexual OffendersTovia SmithCopyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.Malia Obama's 'Gap Year' Highlights Growing Trend In U.S.http://wemu.org/post/malia-obamas-gap-year-highlights-growing-trend-us
76095 as http://wemu.orgMon, 02 May 2016 20:26:00 +0000Malia Obama's 'Gap Year' Highlights Growing Trend In U.S.Tovia SmithA group of die-hard Patriots fans went to federal court earlier this week trying to overturn the team's punishment for Deflategate . The Patriots were stripped of their first-round draft pick after the NFL found the team improperly deflated footballs in the Jan. 18, 2015, AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Fans say the team shouldn't be punished while the case is on appeal. "That's not fair, you know. We gotta think long-term here," says Mike Dimauro, one of seven plaintiffs accusing the NFL of fraud, negligence and inflicting emotional distress. Commissioner Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft are also named in the suit. The Associated Press reports: The complaint says the league and Goodell relied on "false premises and biased 'investigations'" in handing down punishment, which also included a $1 million fine and a four-game suspension for quarterback Tom Brady. Brady's suspension remains under appeal. The suit criticizes Kraft for not fighting the leagueFans Want Patriots' Draft Pick Restored And Sue NFL To Make It Happenhttp://wemu.org/post/fans-want-patriots-draft-pick-restored-sue-nfl-over-deflategate-punishment
75014 as http://wemu.orgThu, 07 Apr 2016 09:39:00 +0000Fans Want Patriots' Draft Pick Restored And Sue NFL To Make It HappenTovia SmithMore than 700 million women worldwide today were married as children, and most of them are in developing countries. But there is a growing recognition that many young teens are marrying in the United States as well — and several states are now taking action to stop it. Advocates say the young marriages run the gamut: They include teens of every ethnicity and religion, teens who are American-born and teens who are not being forced into arranged marriages. "To be honest with you, I begged my parents to let me get married," says Rachel Holbrook, who was 15 when she decided she wanted to marry her 21-year-old boyfriend. Partly, she says, it was because of her fundamentalist Christian upbringing. "I thought that was God's will for my life," she says. "I had been pretty much taught from birth that the highest calling of a woman was to be a wife and mother and that I needed to do that to be in God's will." Holbrook says her other motivation was her belief that sex before marriag e was a sin. Who Decides If You're Too Young To Marry?http://wemu.org/post/who-decides-if-youre-too-young-marry
74963 as http://wemu.orgTue, 05 Apr 2016 21:53:00 +0000Who Decides If You're Too Young To Marry?Tovia SmithI first noticed it in a neighborhood of Boston aptly called the "Innovation District." On a crumbling corner of an old brick building, there was a gaping hole created by about 15 missing clay bricks, filled in with about 500 Lego blocks. I was determined to find out who the artist was. "I don't know!" I was told by folks working in the building. Their property manager had no clue, nor did the people at Lego. "If you hear, let us know," said brand relations manager Amanda Santoro. "It's a mystery," says Emily O'Neil, executive director of the Fort Point Arts Community, a group of artists who've long occupied the old warehouses in the neighborhood. "When we first saw it, the reaction from the community was literally, 'How wonderful, guerilla art has come back!' " One day, I came across an Instagram picture of the Lego patch — in pieces. That's when I found Nate Swain , a former landscape architect trying to make it as an artist. "I saw this gaping hole in the wall ... and it was justUnraveled: The Mystery Of The Secret Street Artist In Bostonhttp://wemu.org/post/unraveled-mystery-secret-street-artist-boston
74927 as http://wemu.orgTue, 05 Apr 2016 08:56:00 +0000Unraveled: The Mystery Of The Secret Street Artist In BostonTovia SmithCollege students can't miss the warnings these days about the risk of campus sexual assault, but increasingly, some students are also taking note of what they perceive as a different danger. "Once you are accused, you're guilty," says Parker Oaks, one of several Boston University students stopped by NPR between classes. "We're living in a society where you're guilty before innocent now." Xavier Adsera, another BU student, sounds a similar theme. "We used to not be fair to women on this issue," he says. "Now we're on the other extreme, not being fair to guys." As colleges crack down on sexual assault, some students complain that the schools are going too far and trampling the rights of the accused in the process. In recent months, courts around the nation have offered some of those students significant victories, slamming schools for systems that are stacked against the accused. "Schools are overcorrecting," says a student from the University of California, San Diego. "People like meFor Students Accused Of Campus Rape, Legal Victories Win Back Rightshttp://wemu.org/post/students-accused-campus-rape-legal-victories-win-back-rights
67937 as http://wemu.orgThu, 15 Oct 2015 08:45:00 +0000For Students Accused Of Campus Rape, Legal Victories Win Back RightsTovia SmithStudents headed for college this fall can expect a slew of new efforts aimed at preventing campus sexual assault. A federal law that took effect this summer requires schools to offer programs to help raise awareness and lower risk. It was once a tiny niche market, but it is now an exploding industry with everything from fingernail polish that detects date-rape drugs in drinks to necklaces that hide mini panic buttons — and all kinds of crash courses on how to get and give consent. "Every other day there's a new group sprouting up offering slick advertisements and products," says Sharyn Potter, a researcher at the University of New Hampshire. Schools don't want to risk stiff penalties, and "corporations know that these administrators are panicking ... and shopping," she says. Potter says UNH can barely keep up with demand for a program it is selling called Bringing in the Bystander. Cited by the White House as one of the most promising, the program teaches students to recognize whenCurbing Sexual Assault Becomes Big Business On Campushttp://wemu.org/post/curbing-sexual-assault-becomes-big-business-campus
65324 as http://wemu.orgWed, 12 Aug 2015 20:42:00 +0000Curbing Sexual Assault Becomes Big Business On CampusTovia SmithHaving clinched the long-sought prize of same-sex marriage in all 50 states, some long-time advocates are now waking up to the realization that they need to find a new job. At least one major same-sex marriage advocacy group is preparing to close down and other LGBT organizations are retooling. They have grown from a ragtag group with a radical idea into a massive multi-million dollar industry of slick and sophisticated sellers of a dream. Today, their very success has made their old jobs obsolete. "We could not be happier than to be able to say this campaign is done and the right thing to do is shut it down," says Evan Wolfson, founder and president of the advocacy group Freedom To Marry. It is closing up shop and Wolfson says that has been the tentative plan for months. But it's still a big adjustment for staff who've made same-sex marriage the cause of their lives and thought it would take a lifetime to achieve. "It kinda blows your mind when you are face-to-face with that moment,"After Supreme Court Decision, What's Next For Gay Rights Groups?http://wemu.org/post/after-supreme-court-decision-whats-next-gay-rights-groups
63605 as http://wemu.orgWed, 01 Jul 2015 10:08:00 +0000After Supreme Court Decision, What's Next For Gay Rights Groups?